By FRED KRONER
The sport is girls’ golf, but talk about apples and oranges.
Mahomet-Seymour athletes who participated in the sport in high school were under three different and distinct state tournament formats during the past 25 years.
Those who played through the fall of 2005 did so while girls’ golf was conducted under a one-class tournament.
The two-class system was implemented in the fall of 2006 and, for the first five years, M-S was assigned to the Class 2A (large-school) division.
Starting in 2011 and continuing through the fall of 2022, the Bulldogs participated in the Class 1A (small-school) division.
By the fall of 2023, as school enrollment continued to grow, the Bulldogs found themselves back in the Class 2A competitors’ list.
All four of the Bulldogs’ team state-tournament appearances were while in Class 1A. M-S broke through in 2024 with its first regional title while in Class 2A.
Still, factors beyond state tournament finishes and appearances are more meaningful in girls’ golf due to the variety of postseason formats the school has faced.
Without further ado, the Mahomet-Seymour Quarter-Century girls’ golf team.
RANDAL-ALLISON BERNTHAL, Class of 2012. Averaged 45.5 for nine holes as a senior and 46.4 as a junior. Tied for 47th at state in Class 1A as a senior, when the Bulldogs finished sixth as a team.
MADDIE BIRCKBICHLER, 2015. News-Gazette All-Area first-teamer as a senior, averaged 48.4 as a junior and was part of a 16-1 team that placed ninth at state in Class 1A as a sophomore. As a junior, part of the team’s seventh-place state finish.
DANIELLE ELLIS, 2012. Averaged 45.7 as a senior and 48.3 as a junior. Tied for 67th at state in Class 1A as a senior, when her team placed sixth in Class 1A.
KELSEY ERICKSON, 2008. Averaged 41.2 as a senior and was ranked as one of the area’s top 12 players three consecutive years.
KEEGAN GAGNE, 2016. Two-time All-Area second-teamer was part of a 16-1 squad as a freshman that placed ninth at state in Class 1A. As a sophomore, part of the state’s seventh-place Class 1A team. Averaged 47.8 as a senior.
CHARLOTTE GOSS, 2012. Averaged 40.5 as a senior and 41.3 as a junior. Tied for 27th at state in Class 2A as a junior and tied for 30th at state in Class 1A as a senior, when the team finished sixth in Class 1A.
BROOKE HARTMAN, 2026. Two-time All-Area first-teamer had 41.0 nine-hole average as a junior and helped M-S secure a share of a Class 2A regional crown for the first time after placing third individually.
BROOKLYN HILDRETH, 2013. All-Area first-teamer and Area Player of the Year as a senior. Averaged 43.8 as a senior and 47.2 as a junior. Tied for 46th at state in Class 1A as a senior and tied for 62nd at state as a junior. Was part of a 16-1 team that placed ninth at state as a senior.
KATIE HUNTER, 2028. Top freshman placer, finishing in a tie for seventh overall in Class 2A regional, helping M-S earn a share of regional team trophy.
MAGGIE JOHNSON, 2002. Bulldogs’ lone state-qualifier when girls’ golf was a one-class tournament. Tied for 66th at state as a junior.
KAYLA McKINNEY, 2023. Two-time All-Area first-teamer averaged 48.6 as a junior and 46.7 as a senior when she was a member of the Class 1A 11th-place state tournament squad.
JEN LAWSON, 2007. Placed in a tie for 48th at state as a senior in the first year of the two-class tournament. Ranked as one of the area’s top 12 players as a sophomore, junior and senior.
CYDNEY MITCHANER, 2016. All-Area second-teamer and averaged 48.1 as a junior. Was part of a 16-1 team as a freshman that placed ninth at state in Class 1A. As a sophomore, part of the state’s seventh-place Class 1A team.
AMBER TABAKA, 2013. Averaged 46.6 as a senior and 48.4 as a junior. Was part of a 16-1 team that placed ninth at state as a senior.
EMILY TROLIA, 2015. All-Area first-teamer and Area Player of the Year as a senior. Averaged 41.7 as a senior, 42.4 as a junior and 46.3 as a sophomore. Tied for 16th at state in Class 1A individually as both a junior and a senior. Was part of a 16-1 team as a sophomore that placed ninth at state in Class 1A. As a junior, part of the seventh-place state team in Class 1A. Four-time state-qualifier.
AINSLEY WINTERS, 2023. Three-time All-Area first-teamer and two-time Area Player of the Year averaged 39.5 as a senior and 41.4 as a junior. Tied for 13th at state in Class 1A as a junior. As a senior, she was a member of the Class 1A 11th-place state tournament squad. Tied for 35th at state as a senior in Class 1A.
